Voices of Hope
Uplifting Stories of Connection, Compassion, and Resilience
Discover the inspiring stories of cancer survivors and caregivers who have become Cancer Hope Network Peer Mentor volunteers.
Learn about the invaluable guidance, emotional support, and practical advice they offer and the significant difference they make in the lives of those they mentor.
Balancing Parenthood and Professional Life Through Cancer
This is the important lesson Lindsay hopes to impart to her daughter: the need to be resilient and to rebuild.
Turning A Career-Changing Diagnosis into a Mission to Help Others
From Boxer to Peer Mentor: One of the biggest struggles of her life wasn’t in the ring.
When First-Line Treatment Fails
I would strongly urge cancer patients to advocate for themselves in all situations. You are your own best advocate and you have the final say in your treatments.
Today is the first day of the rest of your life
When you are faced with a life-threatening disease, you always look to see how others have done. I was lucky to be able to find survivors of this horrendous cancer that were thriving.
My Journey of Hope & Wisdom Gained
I am very passionate about paying it forward through my patient advocacy efforts in sharing my message of HOPE, helping fellow cancer patients and caregivers as they navigate their journeys.
Stress Awareness Month: Voices From Our Community
As we navigate through the complexities of living with cancer, whether as patients or caregivers, it's essential to recognize the toll it can take on our mental and emotional well-being.
How I Met My Uncommon Diagnosis with Gratitude
The hardest time is between learning you have cancer and beginning treatment. Once you start you regain a sense of agency.
A Masterclass in Cancer Survivorship
It’s said that experience makes the best teacher. If that’s true – Support Volunteer Julie is ready to teach a masterclass.
Eat the junk food – and take the walk.
Life lessons and practical tips from a testicular cancer survivor.
CHN trains new class of volunteers – and finds inspiration
Cancer survivors from Stony Brook Southampton Hospital share life lessons as part of peer mentor training.
Meet the New Class of Support Volunteers: The Few in a Million.
Last week, we trained an exceptional group of new volunteers – including some with rare diagnoses and some with one-in-a-million cancer discovery stories.
Parenting with Cancer: Real Talk from a Parent
Having cancer or caring for someone with cancer is extremely hard. Parenting young children while navigating cancer can be nearly impossible.
Meet New Class of Support Volunteers: Beating the Odds
This week, we trained an incredible group of new volunteers – All of whom had hope in their hearts and beat the odds.
CHN Celebrates Cancer Survivor Month
Each day, during Cancer Survivor Month and throughout the year, CHN’s cancer survivors and cancer caregivers create hope by providing peer support for people facing cancer across the nation.
Cancer Caregivers Needed: Give help. Get Help
Cancer Hope Network provides resources and peer support for cancer caregivers – and is looking for seasoned caregivers to serve as volunteer mentors.
Meet the New Class of Support Volunteers: Cancer knows no age.
Last week, we trained an incredible group of new volunteers – including volunteers ranging in age from 26-79.
Heroes of Hope: Cancer Hope Network celebrates Volunteer Appreciation Week
This Volunteer Appreciation Week, we celebrate the heroic cancer survivors and caregivers who serve as volunteers. Our superheroes don’t wear capes or have flaming arrows. But they do wield a mean phone to create hope.
Meet the New Class of Support Volunteers: Caregivers Need Support Too
Earlier this month, we trained an incredible group of new volunteers – including several cancer caregivers. The need for caregiver peer support continues to grow and we are grateful to this group of survivors and caregivers who have stepped up to help.
Meet the New Class of Support Volunteers: East Coast to West Coast
Our three new cancer survivor and caregiver volunteers come from all over the US, from San Francisco to Wyoming to New Jersey! They also bring with them a vast array of experiences and expertise.
Wigs be gone! Hodgkin’s survivor Melanie celebrates her cancerversary as Cancer Hope Network volunteer
One year cancer free, the 28-year old is sharing her inspiring outlook and raising money to support Cancer Hope Network
Cancer survivor finds meaning and purpose helping others.
As a cancer survivor I find meaning and purpose in helping others.
Meet our newest class of Support Volunteers
There’s power in numbers and comfort in details – while many aspects of a cancer journey are shared, each survivor or caregiver’s individual journey is uniquely their own.
Practicing gratitude, finding hope
Diagnosed at a time when the internet was in its infancy and support groups were unavailable for cancers as infrequently diagnosed as her, Donna is committed to ensuring no one faces mycosis fungoides alone.
CHN Trains a New Class of Volunteers
We are excited to welcome this new class of volunteers and are inspired by the overwhelming sense of caring and devotion they bring.
Lucky, hopeful 13
Longterm ovarian cancer survivor Dee reflects on more than a decade of hope-filled service.
CHN trains new class of volunteers
New volunteer trainings are one of our favorite events. We love getting to know our new volunteers and learning about journeys they have been on.
Reasons Behind the Rage: How to help when cancer patients lash out
Cancer survivor mentors share tips on managing difficult conversations and creating hope.
Faces of Love: caregivers
Cancer caregivers deal with a lot. Connecting with someone who understands can help.
CHN Trains New Class of Volunteers
Caring and being cared for. Fishing and knitting. Our newest class of survivor and caregiver mentors is pretty amazing.
Accepting help. Lessons from an Ovarian Cancer survivor
Support Volunteer Ann finds meaning and hope as she accepts – and now shares – help.
CHN Trains New Class of Volunteers
What do a foodie, a gamer, a librarian and a laker have in common? They’re the newest members of the CHN volunteer community.
Looking back, looking forward: four lessons from 2020
Support Volunteer Lenny recently sat down to share reflections and lessons from the extraordinary year that was 2020. We are pleased to share those reflections here.
In Celebration of Modern Magic: Clinical Trials
Celebrating the brave clinical trial participants who make hope a reality.
Fifteen Years Cancer Free
15 year Hodgkin's Lymphoma survivor expresses the many emotions of survivorship through poetry.
Adenocarcinoma Survivor Ellen on the importance of helping others.
“Everyone is sympathetic, but unless you’ve been exactly in that same place, you don’t really grasp it.”
A Different Trajectory: Journey to Hope
Two-time survivor Stef shares her journey to "making lemonade out of my lemons."
A mother’s fight
Breast cancer survivor Bhawna shares her experience facing cancer as a mother to small children.
Talking hope with tongue cancer survivor Ed
Bypassing online horror stories, finding hope and healing, providing perspective.
“Triumph Begins with U” Finding hope and healing after carcinoma of the pharynx
Mona P is finding hope, life and healing after carcinoma of the pharynx.
Surviving On Hope: Letting go of uncertainty
Finding a way through when cancer upends everything.
Gratitude and growth: Spotlight on Bill M.
Talk with Bill M for five minutes, and you’ll probably want to clear your calendar for the rest of the day. He’s that interesting. And that inspiring.
How to get over the pressure to be over cancer
Welcome to SURVIVING ON HOPE our new, monthly column from Support Volunteer Debbie Woodbury. Debbie blogs honestly about the emotional realities of life with cancer – loneliness, grief, anger, uncertainty – and the strategies that make surviving on hope possible – gratitude, support, humor, and joining with other survivors at her blog WhereWeGoNow. In addition to […]
Unstoppable Susan
Support Volunteer Susan won't let metastatic kidney cancer, brain surgery or even immunotherapy get in the way of life well lived.
Surviving On Hope: Working through cancer anger
Welcome to SURVIVING ON HOPE our new, monthly column from Support Volunteer Debbie Woodbury. Debbie blogs honestly about the emotional realities of life with cancer – loneliness, grief, anger, uncertainty – and the strategies that make surviving on hope possible – gratitude, support, humor, and joining with other survivors at her blog WhereWeGoNow. In addition to […]
From belly dancers to Bermuda: finding hope after cancer.
37 years after cancer, Edna is inspiring a new generation of survivors.
Educator, amputee, survivor
Middle school special education teacher Emily Parker shares lessons and inspiration from her fight with melanoma.
Get up. Dress up. Show up. Smile.
Ice cream, lipstick and joy - Bridget shares the lessons of hope she's learned while living with metastatic breast cancer.
I am a survivor: Sandra Mosley
My name is Sandra Mosley. I am senior citizen and a three time cancer survivor. I was diagnosed in 2003 with Colon Cancer. In 2011, I was diagnosed with a Carcinoid Cancer of the stomach and Renal Cell Cancer of the left kidney. I had surgery to remove the cancers, and I am now in […]
Wedding. Cancer. Divorce.
Ask any cancer survivor and there’s a good chance they can name the friend (or friends!) who bailed after diagnosis. A quick search for “losing friends after cancer” returns 192 million results, with titles like “When My Cancer Returned, My Friends Disappeared.” Google “abandoned during cancer” and you’ll find more than 50 million results, with […]
Addicted to the “yeah, but…”
“I’m addicted to the “yeah, but…” ~Dr. Ryan Gustus “Yeah, but…” is where the Support Volunteers of the Cancer Hope Network community thrive. For them, “Yeah, but…” means finding the hope and possibility in any circumstances. It’s pushing past the challenges of treatment and the pain of recurrence to find hope and healing. Like entrepreneurs, […]
Friendship doesn’t run away.
When blood tests showed slightly elevated PSA levels, Joe Borzacchiello’s doctors were cautiously optimistic, telling him that few patients with similar levels had cancer. In fact, the chances of him having cancer were only 20 percent. So he was hopeful. “In Vegas, 80% is great odds,” he laughs. “But I didn’t want to gamble with […]
A bag of FU and hope.
Michael Korb was 59 when he was diagnosed with colon cancer. He had no family history of cancer and had been putting off the colonoscopy he knew that he should get. After two days “with the worst gas pains ever,” Mike decided it was time to check colonoscopy off his to-do list. Unfortunately, the scan […]
Puppies, puking and hope.
Jenn’s diagnosis with leiomyosarcoma was as unexpected as the disease is rare. “I was in my last year of medical training, getting ready to be married,” she recalls. “I’d dropped ten pounds, was doing boot camps, but I noticed that my legs would hurt after walking up even a small hill.” After one day with […]
Hopelight Spotlight: Jeff Scott
“I don’t think of cancer as a death knell for people. There are so many treatments. I try to let people know that they can do it. They can work their way through it.” These words of wisdom and encouragement from cancer survivor and caregiver Jeff Scott are born of hard-won experience. A survivor of […]
Christmas in July
There’s a reason Christmas is often known as the “most wonderful time of the year.” For that one day, it seems everyone is just a little nicer, a little kinder and a little more gentle. If the kids misbehave, well no one really wants to yell at them on Christmas Day. If your spouse gets […]
Art and healing after cancer
“If we are ever to enjoy life, now is the time, not tomorrow or the next year . . . Today should always be our most wonderful day.”—Thomas Dreier I’m entering my 14th year since my cancer diagnosis. It began in 2004…An incredible journey traveling along life’s road, taking me from anal cancer patient to […]
Caring and loving when cancer comes back to stay.
Forty years ago, a friend introduced Hugo to the neighbor girl who lived three houses down. His life has never been the same.
Being lucky isn’t easy
Cervical cancer survivor Ellen shares an honest look at the complications and challenges of life after treatment.
Define your purpose; live your reason
Lessons from widowhood: life beyond resolutions. Finding and achieving your purpose.
One butt at a time: Providing support, creating sisterhood for women with anal cancer.
AnalCancer Chat provides a safe, informative community for anal cancer patients around the world.
Love that won’t quit
Leukemia survivor Paul (Princeton Class of 1961) on clinical trials, blast counts and support for classmates facing serious illness.
Escape from fear: life after treatment
Colon-cancer survivor Karen on the gut-wrenching terror of life after treatment.
Not consumed by small things: life as a survivor.
27 years after his testicular cancer diagnosis, Kevin is living life to the fullest.
A bit of advocate in all of us
Advocacy advice from ovarian cancer survivor, patient advocate, volunteer Dee.
The human side of cancer
"What all cancer patients share is the human experience with all our thoughts, feelings and emotions."
Hopelight Spotlight: Ann’s Story
Bladder cancer survivor, caregiver, Support Volunteer Ann shares her story.
Hopelight Spotlight: Mary’s Story
Outdoorswoman & breast cancer survivor Mary shares her story.
Teres’ Journey: From patient to Support Volunteer.
“Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.”
Surviving Vanity
Support Volunteer Robin shares the hard lessons she learned during her fights with ovarian and facial cancer.
Lessons from a tongue cancer survivor.
Tongue cancer survivor & CHN Support Volunteer John shares his story.
Hopelight Spotlight: Elaine’s story
CHN Support Volunteer Elaine uses her experience as a squamous cell vaginal carcinoma patient to help others.
The Power of Positive Thinking
When someone first receives a Cancer diagnosis, the news is devastating.
The Four Questions
Today I read about four other questions which Native American cultures ask of those who come to be healed.
